CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 1/23/2018

For Charles and Ray Eames, a chair was never just a chair…

Designed between 1940 and 1950, and put into production by Herman Miller in 1950, Charles and Ray Eames’ DAX fiberglass armchair was originally priced at $32.50 and developed in response to a MoMA low-cost furniture competition. Previously, inexpensive, virtually indestructible fiberglass had been used in the aviation and boating industries, but not in mass-produced furniture. "For the Eameses," Jolanthe Kugler writes, "a chair was never just a chair but rather a solution to a whole range of problems and could innovatively react, often by integrating new industrial materials and manufacturing techniques designed by the Eameses themselves to the challenges posed by the living and working conditions of the time." Read more in Vitra Design Museum’s definitive and exquisitely produced Eames Furniture Sourcebook.